


What about you?

by cambion



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everyone Is Gay, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-02 11:25:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10216943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cambion/pseuds/cambion
Summary: "No one knows they’re gay when they’re twelve, Sasuke.”“I did.”Shit.Or, the fic in which Naruto's best friends are both gay and he has a lot to figure out about himself. Vaguely post-699 ish.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! thanks for giving this fic a chance. it's not really gonna be my most serious work (if you're looking for that, check out my other in-progress naruto fic!), but it's been a lot of fun to write and i do think it gets pretty serious at some points. 
> 
> i struggle to finish fanfic a lot but i WILL finish this one, and am in fact completely done with the next chapter, and the third will just be to wrap things up. i expect to get chapter 2 posted and edited by the end of the weekend, fingers crossed. ;w; 
> 
> setting's vaguely post-699 as i said - what everyone's up to should be explained throughout but also like... don't think about it too hard, okay. 
> 
> as a lesbian, writing things that talk explicitly about gayness is really healing and good, and i hope it's as fun to read!

“Hey, Naruto,” Sakura says, “wanna come grab some food with me? Kakashi said I could borrow you.”

Naruto looks up at her sluggishly from his piles of paperwork – Kakashi’s got him on the Hokage training good, and god, it includes a lot more papercuts and headaches than he’d expected. Practically dangling a free pass to get the fuck out of here, Sakura is just about the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. “Yes, I fucking do!” he says, rising from his desk. “Finally got up the guts to ask me out, eh?” he jokes, because he always does.

She sighs, hitting him upside the head before crossing her arms. “No, it’s not a date,” she hisses, because she always does, “and actually I’ll be treating _you_ to food.”

“Ah!” he perks up then, “That’s even better!” The words come out of his mouth before he has time to think about them, but, well, it’s true, this is better. If Sakura actually did ask him on a date, he doesn’t really know what he would do. He’d probably say yes, because he’d be an idiot not to, right? The girl he’s been saying he’s got the hots for since he was like, eleven fucking years old, and what, he turns her down? Ridiculous.

He wonders if she would still say yes if Sasuke asked her out. Probably not - they aren’t exactly the best of buddies these days, after all. After everything, Sakura seems like she’s mostly just wary of him, and Naruto can hardly blame her. The feeling’s clearly mutual, too, given how Sasuke’s been avoiding the few approaches Sakura has made to him like the plague. But then, he hardly talks to anyone in the village, really, except for Naruto, and his group of friends that he brought with him. Adjusting back after so long must be really difficult, Naruto thinks – not that Sasuke’s said a word about it either way.

He tries not to worry about it, though.

“Hey, hey, Sakura, I was so pent up in there, you wanna jog to Ichiraku? Bet I could still beat you in a race,” he challenges.

She just laughs and waves him off, keeping her pace steady. “No, I’m good.”

“You’re getting boring in your old age, Sakura,” he teases.

“We’re the same age, asshole!” she practically squawks.

“Uh-uh! You’re what, six months older than me?”

“That doesn’t count, idiot. And we’re both still teenagers.”

“So you’re just getting boring for no reason?” he goes on.

“I’ve always been boring by your standards, Naruto, we both know that. Anyway, what I’m getting is _tired_ \- the hospital keeps me on my feet enough as is. Besides, we’re not even going to Ichiraku today.”

“Huh?” he asks, “Where then?”

“You know that new place that opened down on the south side?”

“Ehh, that super ritzy place?” he balks. “I mean – I guess it _is_ your treat. You sure?”

“I’m sure,” she says, before fading back into silence, a soft smile on her lips, her hands fidgeting at her sides. Naruto twists up his lips in concern but lets her be.

The more he thinks about it, the weirder it is, really, that he doesn’t think he really wants to date Sakura. Because he doesn’t think much has changed about the way he feels about her, really? He still thinks she’s really cute – just as cute as she’s always been, bangs framing her face and that glint of determination in her eye. And he still loves her fiercely, admires her more than any other girl; wishes he could be as strong as she is in so many ways. But when she confessed to him all that time ago – fake as it was – it didn’t really… mean anything to him. He felt more scared than anything, actually. And that’s weird.

He’s glad he’s come to this conclusion by the time they’ve arrived at the restaurant, because this really, _really_ feels like a date.

“Table for two, please,” she says, and then dips her head a bit shyly, “and uhm, one with privacy, if you don’t mind.”

Okay, maybe her asking him here wasn’t asking him out, but like, maybe she’s gonna ask him out for real here? No, that’d be, super weird, people don’t do that kind of thing. Or maybe they do? People don’t exactly ask him on dates a lot, who is he to pretend to be the fucking, date expert or whatever. Oh god this is terrible.

He doesn’t even know what he’ll _say_. ‘Oh, sorry, I know I’ve flirted with you for seven years or whatever but actually this is kind of high pressure and maybe I should think about it first’ or ‘Sorry Sakura you’ve been friendzoned by now’ or ‘I didn’t realize I wasn’t into this until literally this exact moment oh god’?

The waiter seats them at what is, yes, a nice private table for two – there’s fucking curtains separating them from the bulk of the room; oh my god, are those made of velvet? Naruto feels like the entire room is going to catch on fire if he makes one false move, and he can already see his lifelong debt forming. Sitting stiff as a rail, he’s careful to not touch anything but the seat underneath him. He almost tries not to touch that either, in whatever way he can, but the seat is so cushy he’s practically sinking into it.

“I’ll give you some time to look over the menu,” the waiter says before leaving. As soon as Naruto opens the menu, he immediately forgets the tension and he is in _heaven_ because he is _eating good tonight_. They’ve got ramen here, and it’s like, super fucking fancy ramen, this is the best day of his life. Don’t tell Ichiraku, but like, from the looks of this menu, they might have a rival. His eyes glance over the price, though, and – well, maybe not a rival. They’re in a whole ‘nother league. He gulps, thankful that Sakura’s taking the bill.

Sakura seems just as focused on the menu, and doesn’t say a word to him until after they’ve both given the waiter their orders.

“So,” she says, “Obviously I brought you here for a reason.”

The tension’s back and Naruto’s laughing nervously, “Yeah, yeah! So, uh, what is it? What’s up?”

“Ah, well,” she starts; her head is lowered, her hands fidgeting on the table, and oh god she looks kind of like Hinata right now, or at least, how Hinata used to be around him. Which, by the way, how did he not realize that Hinata acted like that because she had a crush on him? He’s a fucking idiot. She might be over him by now but like, c’mon, Naruto. You’re supposed to be Mr. Emotional Sensitivity, or whatever. “What I wanted to tell you, is—”

Oh god, he’s never really rejected anyone before, this is gonna be terrible. Not in a real way anyway; he kind of rejected Hinata, but that was by omission more than anything? He just never brought it back up with her later, so. Maybe he should’ve been more direct with her – he felt really bad about not talking to her about it, but he had no idea what to _say_. For a guy who gets out of fights through talking more often than not, saying no to people with the best intentions just does not agree with his tongue. And like, he didn’t wanna have to see Hinata cry – he really still doesn’t know Hinata that well, but she’s a nice girl, only the evilest of demons make her cry. It was just a lot of pressure, okay. She seems over it now though, he thinks? God, he hopes so.

A closer example of him rejecting some was kind of when Sakura did that fake confession, but also again not really. Maybe she’s also confused right now too, if she’s into him it’s probably just because they’re both kind of bored lately and she’s been ruminating on it too much. With Sasuke and him both still working out the kinks of needing each other to complete any jutsus, the team hasn’t exactly been up for missions lately, so there’s been time for introspection and that kind of thing. Oh god, he doesn’t want to do this, how did Sasuke always reject her? Come to think of it, does this mean she’s like completely over Sasuke finally because –

“I’m dating Ino.”

What?

“Well, not just that, I guess – since I’m dating Ino, that means I, well,  I like girls, which is really, the big thing here,” she rambles, and oh no she looks so scared and nervous and Naruto must be making the stupidest fucking face in the world right now.

“You,” he stammers, “You and Ino? I thought you hated each other!”

That’s far from the first thing he wants to say – ‘You like girls?’ and ‘Weren’t you so boy-crazy for Sasuke?’ and ‘Holy shit is this even an option?’– but he guesses that’s, that’s as good as anything he could say.

It seems like it was a good bet, because Sakura’s shoulders are relaxing and she lets out a breath, “No, not really. I mean she’s a brat sometimes – well, a lot of the time – and we had that dumb rivalry when we were kids, but no, we’re good. I’ve, uh, we’ve been close for a long time.”

“Uh,” he says, scratching the back of his neck. What’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to say in this situation? Quick, Naruto, what would you say if she had a boyfriend? It’s the same thing, right. “How long have you been uh, dating?” This is normal, this is cool, everything’s fine.

“Officially? Uh, not super long, about a month, maybe. But we’ve been talking about it for a while now, you know? And so far it’s going pretty good. She actually took me here for our first date, when it opened.”

“You’ve been dating someone for a month and I didn’t even know!” he exclaims, “God, Sakura, we never hang out anymore, do we?”

She laughs a bit, “Well I can hardly ever seem to drag you away from Sasuke – I had to get you at work to manage to grab you for lunch. But nah, I wanted to wait a bit anyway, feel things out. No need for a dramatic reveal if it all gets messed up in a week.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” he says, and wow, has he really been spending that much time with Sasuke? He guesses so – when he’s not doing busy work for Kakashi, him and Sasuke are usually busy training, so that makes sense. Still, it sucks. “We still gotta hang out more, though, okay? Sasuke, too!”

“Yeah,” she says, nodding, “But, I just wanna be clear: you’re like, cool with it? That I’m gay?”

“Yeah,” he says, “Totally! I’m not gonna be a huge jerk about it, god. You’re my best friend, Sakura.” His head is definitely spinning to put pieces together and he really isn’t sure he gets it but. He’s a good friend, he’s gotta be. “If Ino fucks with you though, I’m kicking her ass, okay?”

Sakura laughs then, “Don’t worry, I think I can handle her.”

He’s silent then, spinning the drink menu around on the table. Should he ask it? No, probably not. But it’s eating him up, he has a lot of questions and he doesn’t know which ones are cool to ask.

It must be obvious that his brain’s basically breaking, because Sakura sighs at him, “What is it? You can ask.”

“Okay, uh, how do you like… _do_ it?”

That was apparently the _wrong_ thing for him to ask.

* * *

“You’re late,” Sasuke says when he arrives at the training ground. He’s lounging against a pole, book in hand – he’s obviously been waiting for a while. With the pose, though, and the way he’s begun brushing his hair in front of his eye, he looks a bit like Kakashi. It makes something tighten up in Naruto, something about the passing and merging of generations or whatever Shikamaru’s ever going on about.

“Sorry, sorry! Sakura took me out for a long lunch and then Kakashi still made me finish all my work and it was like impossible – I’m still getting used to writing with my left hand, he’s a fucking asshole – and then I ran here and,” he takes a deep breath in, “here we are. Gimme a sec.”

“You’re getting out of shape, idiot,” Sasuke scoffs, pocketing his book.

“I’m still stuffed from lunch, gimme a break!” he whines. “I’m ready to train though, I’m solid. Let’s just do some fuckin’, warm-ups or something first.”

And that they do, starting with some stretches before breaking into a low-speed spar.

“So,” Sasuke says, his fist caught in a block at Naruto’s stomach. “Sakura, huh?”

“What about her?” he asks, pushing Sasuke’s fist as he turns to kick at his side.

Sasuke steps away from it, says, “She took you out for lunch.”

“Yeah! She took me to that new restaurant, the mad expensive one.”

“Could you afford that?” Sasuke asks as he aims another hit at Naruto’s stomach, before revealing it as a feint and instead putting the leverage behind his elbow to aim for his jaw.

“It was her treat!” Naruto answers while blocking. “It was awesome!” He has no idea how Sakura managed to afford that, but he guesses it _was_ kind of a special occasion.

She’s the first of them to really actually date someone, now, isn’t she? She was always the prettiest of ‘em - except maybe Sasuke, actually. He had that whole, entourage and all, anyway. But he also never had any interest, so no dating really came of it. And hey, if Naruto’d been into Hinata, maybe that would’ve worked out too, and he’d have beat Sakura to the punch. Or if he had believed Sakura that time – but no, no this is good. He thinks. He’s never seen two girls date before but -

“Huh,” Sasuke says, and suddenly their balance of attack-defend back-and-forth is off, with Sasuke becoming all offense, kicks and hits rapid-fire, practically disregarding whatever blocks Naruto’s putting forward. With Naruto lost in thought, his blocks are lackluster, and Sasuke manages to actually land a couple hits on him.

“Hey!” he says, focusing his chakra in his blocks to better defend Sasuke’s increased strength, “What happened to low-speed sparring?”

“This is low-speed,” Sasuke says, landing a knee in Naruto’s stomach. His face is propelled to the side of Naruto’s, and he breathes beside his ear, “Like I said, you’re getting out-of-shape.”

“Oh fuck off!” Naruto shouts, ears burning and stomach aching, and if he’s having trouble breathing, it’s just because the air was kicked out of him. The spar quickly escalates to one more typical of them – this time there’s no exploding statues or giant craters, but they exchange some jutsus, bursts of fire and wind swirling throughout the training grounds. Something like what a good spar between them back in Team 7 days would have looked like – measured, intense, punches pulled where they ought to be. Konoha’s been blown to pieces enough times already.

Still, by the time they break apart, they’re both panting and disheveled, eyes locked, stances mirrored. Sasuke’s shirt has come unzipped some, his heaving chest and neck bare but for the sheen of sweat that sticks to it. Naruto’s eyes dart all over him, looking for the hint of another attack, but they keep going back there, for some, for some reason -

“We warmed up enough?” Sasuke asks.

“I-I think we’re good for a break,” Naruto stammers, hoping it sounds more like a scoff.  Rolling his eyes, he eases his stance to walk over to the tree where their supplies sit at the base. He grabs the water from it, before turning to slide his back down the edge of the tree, bark digging into his skin through the fabric of the jacket.

“Hn, fine,” Sasuke relents, dusting himself off and stretching. Chakra comes off Sasuke in even, calm waves, the way it always does after a good spar between them, seemingly unraveling the tight knots he tries to keep himself in.

Naruto lifts his elbow a bit as he drinks the water, signaling Sasuke to come over and sit with him. As if it’s some chore, Sasuke sighs, but with a roll of his shoulder and a crack of his neck, he walks over to sit on the grass across from him.

“It’s still super unfair when you use the Sharingan to trick me into completing your jutsus,” Naruto whines, head lolled to the side. “I have to wait for you to just happen to make the signs I need.”

“I do no such thing,” Sasuke says, taking the water from him. “I’m using the same strategy as you.”

“Bullshit!”

“Not my fault you’re easily manipulated.”

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Naruto says, laughter on the edge of his voice as he pushes him. He thinks for a moment, ‘ _Aren’t you one to talk_?’ but thinks better of it. All the times Sasuke’s been manipulated have been, well, less than joke-worthy. “But seriously, dude, what's up with you?”

“What about me?” he asks, a tinge of annoyance in his tone.

“You got all wound up, it’s not like you,” Naruto says. “It felt more like I was fighting Lee back there, what with you zippin’ all over the place.”

“And what about you?”

“What about _me_?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke looks at him seriously, “You’ve had this glazed-out look on your face. Your reaction times were slow.” Something in Naruto softens at that because – well, Sasuke _noticed_ that, he’s _worried_. Sasuke’s only been back in the village for a couple months now, but he’s been a dutiful mother hen since and it’s – well, Naruto’s still having a hard time getting used to it.

“I’m fine!” he says, leaning his head back against the tree to look up towards the sky, “Just. Been thinkin’ about something I guess.”

With his eyes focused upward, he doesn’t notice that Sasuke’s waiting for an answer until Sasuke’s hand is on his leg, nudging him. “Go on.”

“Oh uh,” he starts. His eyes are now fixed on Sasuke’s hand, warm and steady on his thigh. Sometimes it just hits him so heavy that Sasuke’s really _here_ , like _really_ . It took him so many long, _long_ years, but he got him back. It’s a lot to handle. His belly tightens and he resists the urge to put his hand above Sasuke’s on his leg, swallows and says, “Just. So Sakura took me out to lunch, right?”

“Yes,” Sasuke says, tone short and terse.

“Oh, no need to get all crabby, I’m sure she’ll buy you food sometime too,” Naruto says, even if he’s not quite convinced that’s what got Sasuke all riled up. “If you quit ignoring her, anyway. What’s up with that, by the way?”

“Get on with it.” His hand hasn’t moved.

He plans to just tell him – even though, uh, maybe he _shouldn’t_ do that. He’s not sure if Sakura also has a fancy dinner planned to tell Sasuke, and maybe that’s not his thing to tell. Instead, he asks, “You ever dated anyone, Sasuke?”

Naruto can feel Sasuke’s hand tense on his leg just before he pulls it back and says, “What kind of question is that?”

“A normal one!” Naruto insists. “You don’t talk a lot about all the time you were gone. Was there anyone? What about Karin?”

“No,” Sasuke says. “I didn’t exactly have time for that.”

“So you wanted to, though?”

“ _No_ ,” Sasuke scoffs.  “What does this have to do with Sakura? Don’t tell me she’s bothering you about me. I thought I’d made my feelings on that matter perfectly clear.”

“No, no,” he says, resting his chin on his hand. “You sure did – but, I think she’s way over you by now anyway.”

Sasuke snorts, “Coulda fooled me.” He looks away then, head tilted upward, hair falling off his face. As a kid, he always had his hair mostly out of his face, save for the bangs that framed it on either side. But as he’s grown it’s been edging more and more over it, disheveled in a way that his younger self probably would’ve found appalling, if the way he used to scold Naruto’s hair is anything to go by.

Like this, though, Naruto can see more of his face for once, and of course, the Rinnegan. It’s always something else to be able to see it, that striking purple and ring after ring. An eye from legend. Fitting, he guesses, with how god-like in power Sasuke’s become over the years. Sakura’s said the eye freaks her out, but Naruto disagrees, thinks it suits him. Sasuke’s always been perfect symmetry and natural beauty, but inside he’s all jagged edges, something other-worldly. This matches that.

Naruto doesn’t realize he’s staring until Sasuke turns back to look at him, hair falling back over the eye. “So, what then? What’d it have to do with Sakura?”

“Nothing, I guess,” he says, standing up. “Let’s get back to it then, yeah?”

* * *

Sasuke would struggle to think of a time he didn’t know he was gay.

Sure, there was probably a time before he knew the word, and early in his life he scarcely ever really thought about people other than family. But he knew what it looked like when the other kids started fawning over each other, and he knew how he felt when his mom started talking about him having a wife someday. It was never quite right.

One day, laying on his back, kicking his feet onto Itachi’s lap, he’d asked, “How come a husband can’t have a husband?”

Itachi’d looked worried then, bit his lip, said, “Because then how would they carry on the family line?”

Sasuke had decided that was a good enough answer.

Then, he started thinking, well, you don’t marry everyone you have a crush on, right? So that’s okay, then. He didn’t have anyone he liked, but he thought he would like it to be a boy.

By the time there was a boy, one who grinned like nobody else and demanded the world acknowledge him, his eyes the color of the sky and his heart as big as it, he didn’t have time for any of it. There was no family line to continue, there was only blood and duties to be done.

* * *

This is the worst day of Sasuke’s life.

Okay, that’s a vast overstatement. It might not even be the worst day this week. Adjusting back to Konoha has been… interesting, to say the least. Most days are enough of a struggle, even with the better parts that he’s been getting open to. But this? This is still pretty damn unbearable.

He’s sitting in a _very_ plush booth across from Naruto and Sakura, in the middle of a restaurant he has no interest in being in. It’s lavish, and technically, he can afford it – for some reason the Village opted to give him all of his Uchiha inheritance, despite his ex-con status – but that doesn’t mean he likes throwing his money away when he has perfectly good food sitting at home.

And besides, he’s here with Naruto _and_ Sakura, and well. That’s terrible.

It’s not that he hates Sakura. She’s… she’s fine. She’s been off his case lately, which was the only thing he ever really held against her, anyway, so that’s good. And she’s grown, she’s not the twelve year old brat he left behind when he left the village; she can hold her own. But somehow, that makes the rift between them even bigger – he hardly knows the girl sitting across from him. She’s never known him to begin with, so that makes two of them.

The real problem, though, is he’s fairly certain they’re here to break the news to him that Naruto and Sakura are an _item_.

He’s not an idiot – Naruto’s been acting _weird_ since that time she took him out last week, and he’s put enough pieces together to figure out why. It would make sense; Naruto’s been going on about how cute he finds Sakura for years (which Sasuke has _never_ understood; she’s plain at best, always has been, always will be). And Sakura seems to have grown up enough to realize that Naruto’s better than Sasuke’s ever been.

Certainly, Sasuke had… hoped, that Naruto’s fixation on Sakura had diminished over the years, and from their brief, intense interactions that had seemed the case. He was never entirely convinced that Naruto’s declarations of friendship for Sasuke were all there was to it; his sole focus having seemed to have shifted directly from Sakura to himself. Since his return to the village, however, he’s found he’d been wrong. (How could Naruto have had eyes for Sakura with the way he’d been _looking_ at him, though? Wishful thinking, Sasuke supposes.)

He heaves a sigh, and knows Sakura would call him dramatic for it - if she weren’t busy having a very confusing eye conversation with Naruto at the moment, anyway. Also, if this were six years ago and there weren’t a war and several murder attempts between them, thus making any sort of playful banter between them icy and unnatural. How time flies.

“Oh my god, _okay_ ,” Sakura finally says, putting her hands on the table in frustration. “I’ll tell him.”

‘ _Idiots_ ,’ Sasuke thinks. It’s been obvious since the moment Naruto insisted on the group outing – normally he lets Sasuke slip out of every invitation but this time, he put his foot down. There’s nothing else this could be about.

Naruto’s looking anxiously between the both of them, and Sasuke’s a little annoyed that Naruto’s not going to be the one to tell him about this. Sakura’s part in this has nothing to do with him; Naruto’s part has his chest aching. This is so stupid, he shouldn’t have even come.

“So, you probably don’t even care,” Sakura says; Naruto elbows her, “Hey! Ugh, anyway. But I told Naruto so I guess it’s a matter of time before you find out anyway. Naruto can’t keep his mouth shut around you to save his damn life.” She _told_ him? That’s odd, it doesn’t fit with – “I’m gay and I’m dating Ino.” She turns to Naruto then, cuffing him upside the head, “You happy?”

Naruto’s not even looking at her, his eyes completely focused on Sasuke.

What?

“You’re gay?” Sasuke asks, face twisting up into something awful. “Then why’d you bother me so much?”

“Is that really all you have to say about it?” she balks.

“It’s a fair question.”

She looks pissed as all hell – Sasuke doesn’t know why anyone expects tact from him at this point, anyway, but whatever - she answers him nonetheless, “I was a stupid kid, that’s all. No one knows they’re gay when they’re _twelve_ , Sasuke.”

“I did.”

_Shit._

It slipped out before he had time to stop it – he’s been spending too much time with Taka, hasn’t he? Oh well. It’s not how he really planned to come out but, uh, why not, he guesses. It’s hardly been an actual secret for quite some time, anyhow. He’s only ever lied by omission.

“You…” Sakura starts, blinking rapidly.

Naruto looks like. Well, stupid is what he looks like, eyes bugging and mouth dropped just a little, lips in a soft mimicry of an ‘O’. Sasuke wants to, do something to get that look off his face.  

“This makes everything make _so much sense_ ,” Sakura says, “How did I not know! Oh my god. I am _so sorry_ , holy shit.” She’s giggling now, a nervous mess, “Wow, just wow.”

“It’s fine,” he says.

Then, Sakura’s looking between him and Naruto and oh no she better stop that right now. Her face turns into something like pity and Sasuke wants to go back to their icy distance from before right now. “Well, I assume we’re all good here, then, yeah? I’ll admit, I was a little worried.”

“What, that I would cut you off? We’re not exactly close friends to begin with. But no, I don’t care.”  Normally Naruto would be scolding him for that, but he’s still absolutely stunned. Which is… Sasuke doesn’t know, really, what he expected, but it wasn’t that. He stands then, says, “If that’s all this was about, I’ll be going.”

“What? But you already ordered! At least wait for your food!” Sakura says, indignant.

“Naruto can eat it,” he says, taking his leave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as promised, here's chapter 2!!! chapter 3's gonna take quite a bit longer, but i promise i'll have it out soon - i'm determined to finish this!!
> 
> thanks for the support on this, it's been fun and im so glad people are enjoying it. :D 
> 
> also a note: blatantly homophobic comments will b swiftly deleted. no one's got time for that shit.

 

When Naruto was twelve he kissed a boy and wished he hadn’t.

It was an accident – gravity and circumstance betraying him and flinging his lips onto his. One could hardly call it a kiss, eyes wide open and teeth clacking, but it was what it was, and maybe it was the shock, but they didn’t pull away as quick as they probably should have.

“Gross, gross, gross,” Naruto said to himself when he remembered it. Sasuke was – Sasuke was someone he didn’t like, he said, Sasuke was someone he would beat, someone he’d be better than, someone –

Someone a lot, lot like Naruto, really. Someone who made Naruto wish he was better. Someone that made Naruo’s heart ache and someone he missed more than anything.

“So, you done it yet?” Jiraiya once asked him. A long time ago, when he was alive, and Naruto’s new clothes still fit him wrong, and things were different.

“It?” he asked.

“You know,” Jiraiya said, the way he said anything: caring more about the subject than the listener. He was leaned back on the hotel bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling – just one bed this time, said they were tight on money. “Sex.”

“No! No, no, no,  _ no _ ,” he yelped, blood crawling up his cheeks and ears.

“Really? I already had, when I was your age,” Jiraiya had snorted. He still wouldn’t look at Naruto.

“I’ve barely even kissed anyone!”

“Oh, you’ve kissed someone? Who?” Jiraiya asked, leering and joking.

Naruto didn’t answer. He didn’t feel like defending it as the mistake it was, knew the words would ring hollow from his mouth. Jiraiya hardly noticed, opting to instead talk about his teenage escapades, telling Naruto more than he really wanted to hear. Same as he ever was.

* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take him his food?” Sakura asks Naruto, standing outside the restaurant with her fists balled in the pockets of her coat. “The compound’s on my way to work – it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Nah, I got it,” Naruto says, Sasuke’s food in hand. “You’ve got a long shift ahead of you, right? You shouldn’t have to rush to the hospital from Sasuke’s. I got nothin’ else to do today, so.”

“Okay,” she says. Her eyebrows are furrowed with worry, and Naruto would like to pretend he doesn’t know why, but he does. “Just, be careful, okay? I know he seemed flippant about… what he said, earlier, but he might be grouchy. And grouchy with Sasuke never spells good for anyone.”

“Ha!” Naruto laughs, “And when am I not able to handle a grouchy Sasuke?”

“Maybe the time he blew your arm off?”

“Hey, it was mutual!”

They laugh it off, even if Naruto knows Sakura’s concern is genuine and that she has every right to it; and he gives her a hug before heading towards the Uchiha compound.

His head is reeling.

He guesses… it makes enough sense, really. Sasuke never really had any interest in girls, so in that respect, it makes even more sense than it did with Sakura. But he also doesn’t think Sasuke’s ever really shown much interest in men, either? He’s just always been too single-minded for that kind of stuff, Naruto always thought. But it’s also not like shinobi really date around all that much anyway, there’s just not much time for it.

But what are the fucking chances? Naruto thought he’d never known anyone gay, and then the two most important people to him, basically  _ ever _ , both end up telling him they are in the stretch of a week. The way Jiraiya talked about gay people made them sound more like a myth than anything. But they’re real, and they’re his best friends. That on top of how he’s been thinking lately, well. It’s unrealistic.

Since returning to Konoha, Sasuke’s reclaimed the Uchiha compound. It’d fallen into disrepair over the years, and now he’s steadily fixing it up. He never seems to like settling into any of the houses, instead flitting from house to house to repair them. Back in the Team 7 days, Sasuke never invited a single one of them to his place, so Naruto has no idea which one was actually Sasuke’s house – but he assumes it’s the one he’s never seen a single one of Team Taka enter.

Following the sense of Sasuke’s chakra (always strong and erratic, purple and more than Naruto can take at times), he comes to a house toward the edge of the compound which opens to an empty field, finding Sasuke caught up in a spar with Suigetsu in the middle of it. Sasuke’s fast, always is, always has been, but Suigetsu’s faster, limbs blurring into water to deflect everything Sasuke throws his way. It doesn’t help that Sasuke’s limited to only a couple signs that he’s able to weave one-handed. He’s holding his own, but it’s obvious this isn’t just child’s play to him.

At Naruto’s arrival, Sasuke falters, looking over to meet Naruto’s eyes for a brief moment, and it makes Naruto… uncomfortable, he thinks, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Sasuke’s eyes are focused, tense, yet everything about him in a frenzy. The moment ends when Suigetsu drenches Sasuke with water and Sasuke curses, looking like a pissed off wet cat as he jumps back into the conflict.

Karin is lounging on the porch of the house near where Naruto stands, in nothing but her bra and shorts, legs kicked up in the air and lazily reading a book. She seems completely disinterested in the explosions happening just a few yards away, a yawn escaping her.

“Mind if I uh, have a seat?” Naruto asks sheepishly, practically looming over her.

She peeks up at him from over her book and says, “Sure, cuz.” He laughs a bit, nervous, and sits down next to her head.

The whole Karin-being-an-Uzumaki thing is well… weird. Naruto still doesn’t really know much about his clan, about what being an Uzumaki means. Sure, his mom told him but… that was one conversation, and it was kind of a lot, and he thinks he was crying during it, actually, so it’s hard to really wrap his head around. Then here’s another living, breathing, Uzumaki, in the flesh, hair as vibrant red as his mother’s. And he doesn’t know what the hell to ever say to her.

She doesn’t seem to know what to make of it, either, other than the fact that it’s obvious it makes him uncomfortable. So, naturally, she jokes about it – offhandedly calling him ‘cuz’ or ‘cousin’, making exaggerated claims about family reunions, the works. The one thing he’s really worked out about Karin is that she likes to get under people’s skin. He gets that, prankster he’s always been; maybe that’s an Uzumaki thing.

“Where’s Juugo?” he asks, focusing his eyes ahead on Sasuke and Suigetsu’s spar. Naruto always struggles to tear his eyes from Sasuke when he’s fighting. There’s something so captivating about it to him; the way he knows how and when to use every muscle at his disposal, the shift of expressions on his face when Naruto’s close enough to see. Sometimes it makes it hard to focus on what else is happening, but he tries to pay attention to what Karin’s saying.

“Communing with the birds, or something, I don’t fucking know,” Karin says. “He doesn’t like when anyone’s fighting, and Sasuke came back here with his feathers all ruffled, lookin’ for a bone to pick. I figured you guys had a fight or something, but you don’t seem too ruffled yourself, so, I don’t know what his deal is.” She shrugs then, flipping the page in her book.

That worries Naruto – Sasuke must’ve been panicked, all things considered, despite his nonchalance. He left immediately after saying,  _ what he said _ , and apparently has been riled up since. A big part of why Naruto came here was he wanted to check on him, make sure he was okay, but honestly, he has no idea what he’ll say once Sasuke and Suigetsu cut it out. Maybe the fight will be good enough, push all the agitation out of him. It’s the best coping method Naruto knows of, anyway.

Karin gives an exaggerated sniff, tilting her head back so her scalp is flat on the ground and her eyes are inches from the bag of food. “What’s that? It smells divine.”

“Not for you is what it is,” Naruto says, switching it to the other side of his lap.

“Hey!” she exclaims, putting her book to the side. “Not even for your favorite cousin?”

“You’re my only cousin!”

“Exactly!” she all but shrieks, head still twisted awkwardly while her hands grasp out over him at the food.

“It’s Sasuke’s!” he insists, but that doesn’t seem to stop her scrambling for it.

The way Karin feels about Sasuke is confusing, at best – especially when they first settled in to the village. Sometimes she’d be all over him, grabby, loud, hanging off him every chance she got (which always made Naruto feel… some kind of way). Other times, though, she seemed to want nothing to do with him, and it actually took her quite a while to agree to live in the compound with the rest of their little group. With the state she was in when they brought her back to Konoha the first time – he can’t really blame her.

A hole through the chest from someone you care about – another thing they have in common, then. Maybe it’s an Uzumaki curse. All he knows is it’s yet another thing he has no idea how to bring up.

He wonders if Karin’s affections for Sasuke were like Sakura’s, or. What he thought Sakura’s were, before last week. It’s all very confusing. Either way, Sasuke wouldn’t have returned the feelings, though, what with Karin being well, a woman.

After he finally stands and kicks Karin away from the food, he looks up to see that Sasuke and Suigetsu have called it quits. They’re both out of breath, but Sasuke’s managed to apprehend Suigetsu, legs straddled on either side of him and his wrists restrained behind his back.

Maybe… maybe Suigetsu was the one Sasuke was into all along, actually.

No, that’s stupid. Sasuke said he didn’t want to date anyone, he probably didn’t. But then, that could’ve been a lie? Up until a few hours ago, telling Naruto who it was would’ve been revealing even more info. And still, despite the way Sasuke’s been sticking to Naruto like glue, he’s  _ shit _ at actually talking to him about anything.

“Sasuke six, Suigetsu five,” Karin hollers toward them.

“You ready for another round?” Suigetsu asks, toothy smirk twitching up.

Sasuke stands to get off of him, cracking his neck back and forth. “That’s enough.”

Suigetsu sighs but gets up himself. He waves a small gesture at Naruto before leaving the area – maybe to find Juugo or something.

“Ooh boy,” Karin says, quietly enough that it’s only for Naruto to hear.

“Huh?”

“They’re done, but Sasuke’s chakra’s still off the charts,” she says, reaching a hand for Sasuke’s food again. Naruto swats it. “You can sense it, right? Somethin’s got him spooked.”

She’s right – Naruto has a harder time reading the minute details of chakra than Karin when he’s not in sage mode, but it’s unmistakable. It’s coming off of him in thick waves, when after fighting as long as he has been it should be far more stable.

Sasuke walks towards them then, eyes meeting Naruto’s. “What are you here for?” he asks.

Naruto stands to meet him, reaching the bag of food out for him. “You left your food behind,” he says.

“I said you could eat it,” Sasuke says, though he takes the food from Naruto regardless.

“You ordered aemono! I don’t need your rabbit food!” he whines. “ _ Also _ , I’m here to ask you to cover your part of the bill – Sakura got stuck with all of it!”

Sasuke takes a seat on the porch, beside Karin, who in turn scooches to make a small amount of room for him (though, admittedly, not as much as she could). “You could’ve covered it,” he says, but it’s muffled, as he’s using his teeth to assist in opening the bag.

“No, I couldn’t,” Naruto says. “We haven’t been going on any missions lately! I’m running low on my savings. If Sakura hadn’t been working at the hospital, she’d be out of money too. Not everyone’s got a shit-ton of money layin’ around!”

“Are you really complaining that you don’t have inheritance from the genocide of your clan?” Sasuke says, finally getting his food open and ready on his lap.

Plopping down next to him, Naruto says, “I mean, yeah, a little. Karin’s the only one left in my clan, where’s our big bucks?” 

Karin reaches over Sasuke to high-five him, “Fucking true, cuz.”

Sasuke laughs a bit then (and who can blame Naruto if he’s a little mystified by it), and says nothing else while he eats. Karin reaches over to take some of his food and he doesn’t even stop her.

Chakra still comes off of him in wave after wave.

“Hey, Sasuke,” Naruto says. He should talk to him, should tell him – fuck, he doesn’t know, that it’s alright? Sakura seemed to be okay with him just acting like it was normal. Acting like things are normal with Sasuke though seems more like an insult to him. But actually getting Sasuke to fucking  _ talk _ about shit is so hard.

“What?” Sasuke asks. His bowl is about clean, and he’s passing it off to Karin to finish whatever remains of it.

“You’ve never told me,” Naruto starts, “which of these houses was yours as a kid?”

Sasuke turns to face him then, his expression the most unguarded it’s been all day. “Yeah, what about it?” he manages.

“Can I see?” he asks. He wants to add ‘it’s cool if not’, because it is – he never wants to intrude where he shouldn’t, wants to push Sasuke but never too far. But he knows Sasuke knows that (or at least, he really hopes he does).

Instead of giving an answer, Sasuke stands up, and for a moment, Naruto’s worried he’s going to tell him to get the fuck out. He starts walking away from the building, back turned, and calls back, “Well, are you coming or what?” Naruto immediately scrambles to stand and meet his pace.

They walk in silence through the compound, Naruto not sure what to say. A part of him was surprised that Sasuke returned here after everything, the way that the whole area must be an open wound for him, revisiting it so long after everything not unlike pouring salt straight into it. But then, he lived here for like five years after the massacre, before he left Konoha – maybe it’s not so bad. Time heals all wounds, or whatever.

“Did you know,” Sasuke says, breaking the silence and startling Naruto, “that the Uchiha compound wasn’t originally on the outskirts of the village?”

“No,” he says, because he didn’t.

“After the Nine-Tails attack, it was completely destroyed,” he says, in a way that only Sasuke would really be able to. Everyone prefers to dance around the subject of Kurama around Naruto, even after everything. If anything, these days, it’s even more so, because he can’t even pick up on the subtle insults, the fox masks tossed at his face in taunting hints. It’s all praise, ignoring the blatantly obvious. Sasuke continues, “Clearly, I don’t remember what it was like beforehand, I was a fucking baby. But it was more central, I know that much.”

“Huh,” he says. “Good that it did, though, yeah? Get rebuilt here I mean. It’s like the only thing that didn’t wiped out by Nagato.”

“That’s true,” Sasuke says insincerely. “Ironic, I guess.”

Naruto doesn’t have time to ask what he means, because at that moment Sasuke stops walking, standing in front of the house that must be his. It’s unremarkable, just like any of the others that line the streets, save for the fact that it hasn’t seen even the most basic of repairs. ‘ _ This is where Sasuke lived _ ,’ he thinks with an embarrassing amount of awe. He never would have admitted it, but Sasuke’s house had been a point of fascination for him as a kid. Even Sakura, who made a point to let Naruto know that she didn’t like him much at all, invited him to her house on occasion. But Sasuke’s remained mysterious and untouchable, a barrier that was never to be crossed.

On nights when Naruto laid alone in his bed, time ticking by but sleep not coming, he’d wondered if Sasuke felt just as lonely, sleeping in his house without any family there with him, either.

“Hey, stupid,” Sasuke calls, standing in the doorway, chin turned upward in mock disdain, “Don’t make me change my mind.”

* * *

Sasuke was sixteen years old when he had his second kiss.

It should’ve been his first, but when he was twelve, a stupid boy with too loud of voice and heart took that from him. 

The second kiss was nothing like it, and not in the way he expected it to be. Neither were meant to matter - the first (most likely) an accident, and the latter merely a way to pass the time. Suigetsu made his intentions clear, told Sasuke he’d follow him wherever he went but this? This was strictly physical, he wanted nothing to do with whatever fucked up nonsense Sasuke had going on inside him. He preferred it that way just as well.

But he could feel the difference in the heat that never quite reached his lips, could remember every time he’d laid awake, fingers to his lips, thinking about a mistake he wished he could somehow repeat. The second kiss didn’t matter. The first? Well.

Years passed, and little changed.

* * *

Sasuke stands in his childhood home and tries not to feel like the world is crumbling around him, even if the walls are.

It is, because it always is, always has been, he’s just been getting better at ignoring it. Coping, that’s what it’s called, compartmentalizing, moving on, living day-to-day. Kakashi’s been trying to drill this into him, and for the most part, it seems to be working. He doesn’t let his past consume him, he lives on, he tries to make sense of the disasters around him. Rebuilding his childhood home isn’t going to rebuild his childhood family, but he makes himself believe it’s at least doing  _ something _ . 

That doesn’t mean he’s put all his ambitions to rest, not by any means. But he’s missing an arm, and he’s been shaken to the point that it’s difficult to make rhyme or reason of his morality, and for once in his life he thinks it might be wise to wait and learn and see before he takes action. So, he rebuilds, he trains, he  _ mingles _ , a little. Not as much as his Konoha-appointed therapists think he should, but they’ll fucking live.

And normally, he avoids the things that tear that darkness out of him, it’s the only way he can keep his head on straight. But here he stands. The walls feel as if they’re caving in on his shoulders, crushing him, bones and muscles stiff, eyes out of focus, he -

“Sasuke!” Naruto breaks the moment, standing in front of him, fist in his pocket. “You good?” 

Sometimes, all Sasuke can see is the blood dripping from everything, and he wondered if it would make living in Konoha unbearable. But Naruto, in his annoying blinding light, keeps his eyes from it more often than not. 

“Yeah, I,” he says, voice shakier than he intends. “Yeah.” 

Naruto chews on his lip, and he looks like maybe he regrets asking Sasuke to come here. Hell, he should. This is personal fucking stuff. No one’s even so much as mentioned it to him in the months he’s been here, yet here’s Naruto, asking for a front-row seat. 

He has a hard time saying no to Naruto, though, these days.

“It looked different than this, before,” Sasuke says. “For one thing, there were more walls.” The room is gaping open in several places, with the roof caved in in even more still. If he hadn’t lived the entirety of his childhood here, he might’ve found it unrecognizable.

“ _ Whaaat _ ?” Naruto says, sarcastic and exaggerated. “I thought this was like, an open-concept thing.” 

“No, Dad liked everything traditional,” he says despite himself. It’s probably the first time he’s outright mentioned his father in close to a decade. He keeps walking through the house, Naruto following close behind him. 

Fugaku was… a father, his father, the only man he looked up to maybe more than Itachi. But somehow, despite his consistent presence in, if not the home, then always the compound, he always remained even more distant. It felt as if there was always another door closing between them, like he could never reach him. By the time Fugaku had begun to reach out to him, it was mere days before his blood painted the floor. 

Years after the massacre, Sasuke still scrubbed and scrubbed the floors, spotless as they may have been; never feeling like he could quite get the stains out. 

If he were really giving some sort of grand tour, he ought to show Naruto all the rooms - the weapons storage, his parents’ room, his brother’s, and so-on. But he doesn’t, and he won’t, because there’s enough building inside of him as it is. And that’s not what Naruto came here to see, anyway. He never knew them. 

Sliding a door open (and it’s a miracle, really, that this door even can slide, that it’s even still standing, but some parts of the estate remain less damaged than others), he says, “This was my room.” 

Naruto’s been eerily quiet since entering the house - which is to say, speaking like a normal person mostly. But now even more so, he’s basically silent, feet stepping into the room gentler than Sasuke’s ever seem him be. He seems more like a ninja should be, reserved and quiet, but also, more like a child. Timid and not sure what to make of his situation. Concerned.

It’d be stupid to say the room looks untouched - the glass of his window is shattered and scattered across the floor, and because of that it looks like plenty of woodland creatures have made it their home on and off over the years. But his bed is still made, his toys from childhood remain neat in his cabinets. The photo of Team 7 remains pushed face-down on his dresser. 

“I always wondered what your place was like,” Naruto says then. Sasuke’s looking at him, but Naruto’s looking at the room, like he’s trying to put together the pieces of what it would’ve looked like before. “You were the only one I knew, you know? That was like me. That didn’t have someone at home.” 

“Yeah,” Sasuke says, because that’s all he can say. Because he did know, does know. Sometimes how alone both he and Naruto were was the only thing he could really be certain of. He did everything to make himself believe it was worse to lose, worse for him and that Naruto would never understand.

“It’s big,” Naruto continues. “Really big.” 

“Yeah,” Sasuke says. 

“That must’ve made it so much worse.” 

Naruto looks at him then, and it’s with… pity, but not the kind that makes him want to break necks. It’s gentler than that, more knowing. Naruto hasn’t always understood, but he’s been the closest of anyone.

Sasuke had wondered if Naruto was lonely in his apartment, too, back then. It was a smaller space - Sasuke’s been in it several times, and although the one Naruto lives in now is different, rebuilt, it’s much the same. He’s never been one to keep much of a clean house, and he wonders if it’s at all to fill up the space, make it feel less empty.

“Sasuke?” Naruto asks.

“Yeah?”

“Is it easier, now?” 

Sasuke isn’t sure what he means. Is what easier? Living here, in Konoha, even if it’s not in the house where his family died? Living here, with people always in the next room over, so he doesn’t feel like he’s going to burst out of his skin from the emptiness of the space? Living here, his brother dead, but his enemies just as dead and jailed as we wants? 

Living here, seeing Naruto every,  _ every _ day?

“Yeah,” he says. “A bit.”

* * *

They get back to the house that Sasuke’s currently working on, and the rest of Taka are nowhere to be seen.

“Should we, uh, be worried?” Naruto asks, stepping into the house and peering around. He doesn’t sense anyone’s chakra, so he’s fairly certain no one’s around anyway, but it’s still startling. There’s always at least  _ one _ of them crawling around here somewhere.

“It’ll be fine,” Sasuke says, “They’re their own people, they don’t have to stick around here all the time.” 

“Yeah,” he agrees, “But they do, so. It’s weird.”

“I guess.”

“Hey, have you got the kitchen working? Got any food?” 

“Didn’t you just eat?” Sasuke scoffs, taking a seat at the table in the center of the  room. 

“I’m a growing boy!” he insists.

“You’ve been the same height for years.” 

“How would you know that? Are you fuckin’ measuring me when I’m not looking?” Naruto balks, but, well, he’s right. Naruto hasn’t grown in forever. He’s starting to think he might be short his whole life.

“Oh, all the time,” Sasuke says, taking his book from his pocket to read. It’s a different one from the last time Naruto saw him read it - a sequel, maybe? “But, yes, there’s food. Just don’t touch the fishy shit in the fridge, that’s Suigetsu’s. It sucks.”

“Which stuff is yours?” Naruto asks, walking into the kitchen to look around. “I don’t wanna eat Karin’s stuff on accident, she’ll kill me.”

“No, she won’t,” Sasuke calls after him, not answering which food is his. Naruto won’t push it, he’s sure he can figure it out. He knows Sasuke’s taste. 

Giving up on the fridge quickly (it’s like, all fish in tupperware, and none of it looks at all good which is a feat), he moves to the cabinets, but is quickly distracted by a note on the counter. He picks it up, thinking it’ll probably explain Taka’s mysterious disappearance. It reads:

 

_ Sasuke, _

_ Went out to find Suigetsu and Juugo, but they feel like they’re out in the fucking sticks or something, their chakra’s so far. Juugo might be tracking another flock he’s worried about, I don’t know. Anyway we might be a while.  _

_ Stop being a pussy and ask Naruto to stay with you, okay? You’re a bitch when you’re tired, I don’t wanna deal with that tomorrow. You need to get some sleep. _

 

_ Hugs and kisses,  _

_ Karin _

 

Naruto’s not an idiot (or at least, as much as people usually think he is), so he puts the pieces together pretty quickly. There’s always at least one member of Taka around because Sasuke  _ needs _ at least one of them around. And he’s kicking himself for not realizing it before, because he’s so much the same. It doesn’t keep him from sleeping, usually, but sometimes he’s so lonely he can feel it all around him, pressing on him from all sides, and he has to run lap after lap just to get himself to settle down. Other times he basically lives with Sakura, crashing in her living room and pretending it’s an accident when they both know it’s not, her parents being more understanding than he can possibly thank them for. (He wishes he could basically live with Sasuke but he never knows how to ask for it, still terrified of asking more of Sasuke than he already has.) But he gets it, that needing to just have someone  _ around _ .

“What’s taking you so long?” Sasuke hollers, “Are you actually cooking or something? I wasn’t aware you could make anything but Cup Ramen.” 

“Cool it, I’m thinking, asshole!” he shouts back. Should he tell Sasuke about the note? Like, it is  _ for _ Sasuke, so it’s his business. And besides, he might be worried about his teammates, and this explains where the hell they’re at. 

But he also knows that he’ll be stubborn, and he won’t ask Naruto to stay. Especially if he thinks Naruto read the note before him. Stubborn bastard hates admitting any kind of weakness. And like, he didn’t really seem all that worried about Taka honestly, so. It  _ should _ be fine. He pockets the note and grabs the first thing from the cabinet that looks like it doesn’t need some kind of preparation. Rice crackers. Sure.

“Took you all that time for that?” Sasuke asks,  scrunching his face up and scrutinizing him. He makes the dumbest faces at times, and Naruto has to do his best to not mock him for it. If he did, he’d stop. So Naruto swallows his giggles. In the time Naruto’d been in the kitchen, Sasuke’s shed his shirt, apparently not agreeing with how uncharacteristically warm the night is for the season, which makes Naruto swallow some other feelings, high up in his chest.

“I had to deliberate, okay,” he says, sitting down next to him at the table, trying to keep his eyes focused on the snack. 

“Do you even like those?” Sasuke asks, gesturing at the bag of rice crackers Naruto’s holding. He closes his book, setting it neatly on the table before resting his chin on his palm. His eyes rest heavy on Naruto. 

“No, but I don’t like any of your food, it sucks,” Naruto says, chomping down on a rice cracker anyway. It’s not  _ bad _ , just… plain.

“Sorry I don’t have gourmet taste like  _ Cup Ramen _ ,” he scoffs. 

Naruto doesn’t even give a response, distracted by, well…  _ everything _ . He’d just been privy to one of Sasuke’s most private emotional moments, and he’s glad Sasuke didn’t cry but dude it really fucking seemed like he would for a while there. Or exploded in fiery rage, at least. One of the two. He’s certain he’d been basically fucking useless, too, standing there and asking too personal questions instead of giving, he doesn’t know, some kind of support? When he sees Sasuke like that (which admittedly, isn’t often), all he wants to do is reach out and hold him tighter than anything, and tell him ‘ _ me too, me too, I know, it’s not fair, you deserve so much better than you got. _ ’

Sasuke seems to be alright now, though, recovered from the distance between his childhood home and himself. But he’s still… weird, looking at Naruto in a very serious way that he realizes, actually, Sasuke does an awful lot, lately. As kids, Sasuke hardly ever looked him. Then, in each subsequent reunion, his gaze seemed to get more heated, zeroing in on him. He thought it had to do with the extended absences, but it’s remained throughout the recent months even still. It’s like he’s trying to take Naruto apart in his head, figure him out piece by piece. 

He’s found himself looking at Sasuke the exact same way before, usually at times when he thinks he probably really shouldn’t. He thinks, he might know what it means, even if it’s hard to put the right words to.

And it reminds him while he even came here in the fucking first place. Naruto, you  _ idiot _ .

He sets the snacks down, and meets Sasuke’s focused gaze, says, “I came here because I wanted to talk to you about dinner today.” 

Sasuke chokes then, as if he was drinking something but he wasn’t, just pure air and surprise. “Uh, yeah,” he says, heaving a deep breath. “What about it.”

“I just,” Naruto starts, and he never feels like he’s good with words, but he’s gotta believe he can be. “It feels weird if I just like, ignore it, you know? It’s kind of a big deal.”

“It’s not.”

“It is!”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Sasuke says. “It’s a fact about me, sure. But it’s. It shouldn’t change anything.”

“I mean,  _ yeah _ ,” Naruto says, and he wants to grab Sasuke’s hand or something, but that’d be weird right now so he doesn’t. “You’re still  _ you _ , but things about you are important! I kinda brushed over being cool with it with Sakura, but I don’t think that works with you.”

“Why not,” Sasuke says instead of asks, “I love to not talk about things. We don’t have to talk about it. There’s nothing to talk about.” 

“Have you really never dated anyone?” he asks, because he’s wondering and well. That’s the easier part of this. It worked with Sakura, asking about Ino, to make it normal.

(And maybe he wonders for some other reasons, too. He chews on his lip anxiously.)

Sasuke runs his hand through his hair, sighs, “Sort of.”

“ _ Sooort _ of?”

“I really don’t see how this is important.”

“Sasuke just tell me before I eat  _ all _ of your boring, boring rice crackers.” 

He rolls his eyes, but answers, “Suigetsu, kind of. ‘Dating’ is too generous of a word, and it didn’t last very long. We kept it casual.”

“I knew it!” Naruto exclaims, “Or well, not knew but, a hunch. A hunch that was  _ right. _ ”

“Good for you,” he says, looking straight ahead and anywhere but Naruto.

“But that’s it, then?”

“Thaat’s it,” Sasuke says, as disinterested as can be. His lips are tensely shut between words. “Any other weirdly personal questions you have to ask? And don’t you dare bring that up around Suigetsu, he’s insufferable enough about it as it is.” 

“I guess just,” he starts, resting his arm on the table and then his head on his arm, eyes looking up at Sasuke now. “How’d you know?” 

He’s quiet then, and Naruto’s not sure if it’s because of the potential implications of why Naruto might ask that - and even Naruto’s not really ready to think too much about that, even if he should but - Sasuke looks down at him then, exposed eye meeting his. “I’ve known for a really long time, I don’t remember the dawning moment or anything.” 

“Hm,” Naruto pouts. It wasn’t the clarifying answer he was looking for. He’s not really sure what answer he’s looking for, honestly, just that Sakura didn’t have it, either, and Sasuke felt  _ closer _ . He’s always seen so much of himself in Sasuke; he thought maybe he might in this also. 

“What about you?” Sasuke asks.

“What about me?” 

Sasuke tilts his head, hair falling away from his eye, and taps his fingers on the table, inches from where Naruto’s hand rests. Naruto clenches his fist. “Have you dated anyone?”

“Oh,” Naruto says. “Uh… no. Haven’t really had time.” 

“And the girl you liked is gay,” Sasuke says.

A snort of a laugh takes Naruto by surprise, “I mean,  _ yeah _ , yeah that’s true.” He sits up again then to punch Sasuke in the shoulder. “Besides, I’ve been spending all my time trying to drag  _ your _ sorry ass home.”

“You’ve just got it bad for us gays, huh?” Sasuke says. It takes a moment for Naruto to register it as the joke that it is, that it must be, because Sasuke looks deadly serious, and well, it’s not the first time someone’s joked about his… fixation on Sasuke being a little too much like that of a lovesick girl. He must still look taken aback, because Sasuke says, “Relax, it was a joke.”

“Well, you do have a point,” Naruto laughs, but the joke feels hollow. Or rather, it feels too full, like it’s too spot-on. The air around them is too thick, and maybe it’s with tension, but Naruto lets himself think it’s the heat. 

“So,” Sasuke says then, standing abruptly. “You should probably get headed home. It’s getting late.”

“Oh shit, you’re right...” Naruto says, before giving an exaggerated yawn and stretch of his arm above his head. “But my apartment’s so faa _ aaar _ , can’t I just crash here?” 

Sasuke visibly tenses at that. Again, Naruto expects him to tell him to get the fuck out, but instead he says, “If you really want, I guess. But I’ve only got one mat.”

Perplexed, Naruto asks, “Why?” Don’t the others sleep here too?

Sasuke shrugs, gathering up the bag of rice crackers that Naruto managed to forget about, “The others prefer to sleep on the ground. Got used to it with Orochimaru, I guess.” 

“Ohh, okay,” he says. There are a decent amount of shinobi that, after enough long missions, tend to prefer to go without a bed. It’s common enough, he can imagine it even more so in the context of what little he knows of what Taka went through. Even he sometimes feels like he’s sinking into furniture if it’s too cushy - like the one at the restaurant. “That’s okay though, we can bunk up like we used to on missions, yeah?”

Sasuke looks like he really, really wants to say something (and Naruto expects a rejection, because with how jumpy Sasuke is, wanting to sleep alone wouldn’t be out of the question), but it takes him a minute of what must be serious thought, with the way his eyebrows are messing up on his face. “Fine,” he eventually agrees. “I should tidy up, first. You, go like… brush your teeth or something. I don’t want your sleeping breath on my face.” 

Before Naruto can give a snappy response, Sasuke’s already down the hall, presumably to the room he’s taken up temporary residence in.

Well, alright then.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke’s beginning to think he might’ve been right about this being the worst day of his life.

Okay, no, that’s still an overstatement. No one he knows or cares about has died today – there’s very few among those ranks anyway, and while he doesn’t know exactly where Taka is at this exact moment, he’s sure they’re fine. Additionally, he hasn’t undergone any severe psychological torture, so realistically, pretty solid day. He thinks for a moment that being wrenched around from thinking Sakura and Naruto had hooked up to well… _this_ , is its own form of psychological torture, but then decides that joke is a bit too much even for him; even inside his head where no one can contradict him. (Maybe that makes it worse, actually.)

He spreads out the blankets and can’t stand how worried he is about this place looking fucking _tidy_. Naruto’s not gonna care, Naruto lives in a pigsty, Naruto’s here all the time anyway he knows what it looks like. Still, he re-organizes and settles things meticulously, fluffing the pillows with precision. He can’t leave his dirty dishes next to where Naruto’s head will be, what is he, an animal, his mother would be horrified were she alive, he’s –

Stalling. _Stalling_ is the thing that’s he’s doing.

There’s no reason to stall. It’s not that big of a deal. It’ll be nice, anyway – he sleeps better with another body he trusts in the area. It’s fucking childish, it’s pathetic, he knows it, but he’s made his peace with that being a fact of who he is these days. It’s not even a problem for him anywhere else; he never had this problem before coming back to Konoha. But something about waking up in an empty Uchiha building makes him retch and shake and lose where he is, and that’s more humiliating to him than simply ensuring another body is nearby. He’ll wipe out that crutch eventually, there’s no shame in making use of it while he can. (It’s called coping, and living day-to-day, and blah blah blah whatever Kakashi always says to him when he’s trying not to listen.)

But, because of this fact, he had resigned himself to not sleeping tonight once he saw no sign of Taka’s return. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world, he’s no stranger to sleepless nights, but still; sleep is always better than none. He’s grateful to have Naruto’s presence.

He just wishes it would include a few more feet between them.

Technically, he could just, take the floor himself. That’s an option. Even if he doesn’t necessarily prefer it in the same way that the rest of Taka does, he can sleep that way just fine. But, he already agreed to this and well. He guesses he should be relieved. Now that Naruto knows he’s gay, he’d half-expected Naruto to avoid him like the plague for a couple weeks. Accepting a lesbian is one thing when you’re a guy – it cuts her out of your dating pool, but it doesn’t directly threaten you. And hey, Sakura not returning his feelings had never been a problem for Naruto before anyway so, it was fine.

A gay _guy_ is another thing entirely.

Naruto’s a decent guy, he would’ve come around eventually. When they were younger, and Sasuke was more raw and jumpy and desperate for approval, he had feared that wouldn’t be the case. But after everything they’ve been through, that’s clearly far from the most unacceptable trait of Sasuke’s; he’s sure Naruto can handle it. Even so, Sasuke definitely thought he’d likely give him a wide berth for a time, at the very least. No more of the lingering touches, extended eye contact. Naruto’d probably wear clothes around him more. All of that might’ve been _good_ things, realistically - for the sake of Sasuke’s sanity, anyway.

It definitely would’ve fucking stung, though. So the fact that he isn’t, to the point of being willing to share a goddamn bed with him directly after finding out, well – Sasuke’s grateful, he is.

He’s also terrified.

With the way Naruto had been looking at him – through the dinner, then through snacking in the living room – expectant and curious and something so completely _vulnerable_ about him; it’s obvious Naruto’s having some questions about this whole thing – he even asked a few of them - and namely some questions about himself. And he can’t begrudge him for that. Hell, part of him’s fucking _hoping_ he is. And that therein lays the problem: Sasuke doesn’t like to have hope. It’s dangerous and it’s awful and honestly, this is a stupid enough issue to be having he wishes he could believe it’s beneath him. But that would require him to care less than he does. And when has Sasuke Uchiha ever been able to really, truly not _care_?

“Hey, hey, Sasuke,” Naruto says, poking his head into the room and scaring the shit out of him. He jumps, nearly dropping the dishes he had gathered up. “I didn’t know what toothpaste to use, so I picked the one that was used the most because I don’t think the others seem like the types to really brush their teeth? So I hope that was yours.”

Trying to regain his composure, Sasuke answers, “That was Suigetsu’s. Have you not seen his teeth?”

“Oh, shit, you’re right,” Naruto says. He seems to think for a moment before saying, “Hey, what was kissing him like? Did you like, cut your tongue, or…”

This is going to be a very long night.

* * *

When Sasuke was twelve years old, he shared a bed with Naruto.

It wasn’t a big deal, just the kind of bunking up that happens on missions. He told himself that, but he also knew there was a reason that it was _him and Naruto_ together and not _Naruto and Sakura_. And he couldn’t help but feel a rising, tight guilt about the fact that he was _this way_ and they didn’t _know_ and he thought he’d made peace with it or, moved on, or, something. But it turned out it wasn't not that easy. But he’d done this before and he could do it again. It wasn’t a big deal, it wasn’t a big deal.

This time, they were traveling back from the Land of Waves, a mission that had almost been the death of all of them.

Well, mostly him.

The last part of the mission was completely lost to him; he’d gone down protecting Naruto, blacked out, and became utterly useless.

He’d thought he was going to die.

And maybe that’s why this was harder than the times when they’d slept beside each other traveling before, on the way to this mission. Because he’d been ready to die, and that terrified him. Because he’d been ready to give over the one thing that gave his life meaning to this idiot.

Naruto snored beside him while Sasuke laid awake, eyes on his face, cicadas loud in his ears.

He tried not to remember what it’d been like to kiss him.

(The kiss had tasted like miso.)

* * *

Naruto is a tightly-wound bundle of nerves.

Well, if there’s one thing Naruto always is anyway, it’s a tightly-wound bundle of _something_ , but it’s usually energy or determination or chakra or whatever. Right now he’s tied up with anxiety, and he thinks if it goes on much longer then his muscles are going to vibrate right out of his skin.

Which is stupid, because this _isn’t_ a big deal. It's not.

He doesn’t even know why he suggested bunking up with Sasuke. Or well, he does. Because they’ve done it before, _it’s not weird_ , and Sasuke needs someone to be here tonight or he’s not gonna fucking sleep, and dammit, Naruto’s not going home knowing that. So he’s doing this.

But he’s been… _thinking_ , and stressing, and maybe this was a bit impulsive on his part with that in mind. But hey, when is Naruto not impulsive? Why change that part of himself now? Oh my god this was a mistake.

His teeth are brushed and most of his clothes are discarded so he’s just down to essentials, and he’s ready to fucking buckle down and sleep. Sasuke’s already tucking himself in, and he looks over at Naruto with an expectant yet silent ‘ _Well_?’, as if Naruto will turn tail any minute now and chicken out. The challenging look on his face combined with his bare shoulders peeking over the covers is a lot to take in, and Naruto's suddenly desperate to prove himself. He tugs up the covers and settles right in, full-force, and maybe he’s a bit too enthusiastic about it because the covers are torn right off of Sasuke.

“What the _hell_ ,” Sasuke complains, startled. “It’s not a race, relax, _dead-last_.” He shuffles the covers then, getting them even over the both of them.

“Sorry, haha,” Naruto says, nervous energy practically dripping out of his mouth with each word, eyes lingering at the covers which now properly cover Sasuke's shoulders and neck. “You know me, always throwing shit around.”

“Throwing things with poor aim is basically your number one skill.”

“Hey, I can have good aim!” Naruto says, turning on the mat to face Sasuke with annoyance.

“You failed every single shuriken test at the academy,” Sasuke says, tone even and eyes locked on Naruto’s. (There's a lot of things about Sasuke that are a lot to take in, it turns out, and being less than a foot away from him isn't helping.)

“Yet, somehow I still manage to land hits on you all the damn time,” Naruto retorts, maybe a little less aggressively than the teasing should entail.

“That’s because you’re always too focused on me,” Sasuke says, and then looks like he regrets it, jaw tensing and eyes shutting. He rolls over to face away from Naruto, says, “Go to sleep, idiot.”

And Naruto tries, he really does, but he can’t seem to make his body rest. He wasn’t lying earlier when he said he was tired – he was, and he knows if he was at home now, he’d be knocked the fuck out. But he’s not at home, he’s in what’s become Sasuke’s home, in Sasuke’s bed, lying next to him; Sasuke's body heat making him warm and aching. He can’t even bring himself to close his eyes, too focused on the back of Sasuke’s head, and the way it looks in the pale night light. His hair’s a mess, like it always is, fluffy and sticking every which way, made worse by the pillow forcing it all one direction. Looking at it so much, he wants to reach out and touch it. But he's sure Sasuke’s still awake, too, and he doesn’t want to have to explain himself.

He hasn’t had a chance to look at him like this, really - uninterrupted and lying so close to him - since the Valley, when they laid side-by-side for hours, slowly bleeding out, forced only by their own imminent destruction to just stop and be together. He remembers Sasuke cried. He remembers he’d wanted to, too.

He remembers that he couldn’t move from his side then (like, physically if he did he would’ve died), but _god_ , he never wanted to ever again if he could help it. But then they came back to the Village, and Sasuke set his home up in the compound, away from Naruto, and that was good. It was, really, even if Naruto had fantasized for the better part of the last, however long, about maybe Sasuke moving in with him, being there when he woke up and when he went to sleep and some of the time in between, too. It was still good, though, like this - he was still in the village, he was still _here_. He’s still here.

It’s been some time, but he knows Sasuke’s still awake by the stiffness of his shoulders and uneven pace of his breath. So logically, he knows he shouldn’t do this, can’t even have the hope that Sasuke won’t know through his slumber, but he does. Impulse driving him, he reaches out and rests his hand on the side of Sasuke’s head, hair as soft as he’d imagined it.

And sure enough, Sasuke’s awake, but he doesn’t tell him to cut it out, or move away, or get up and leave. Instead, he turns his head toward the hand, eyes peering over at him over his shoulder.

“What is it?” Sasuke asks, and yeah, he wasn’t asleep, but he was getting close, by the sound of the softness in his voice and the droopiness of his eyes. (Naruto can't stop himself from thinking of how he wishes he could see this every night.)

“Are you sure,” Naruto begins, thumb rubbing over Sasuke’s hair just slightly, “that you don’t know how you knew?” He’s referencing the conversation from earlier, and he has no idea if Sasuke will know what the fuck he means, but he also has no idea how else to ask this. To say this. To think this.

“Naruto,” Sasuke says, all seriousness, all weight to it, breath ghosting past Naruto’s hand, “telling you the way I knew isn’t going to help you figure out if you know.”

It feels like Naruto’s heart jumped up from his chest and caught inside his skull. “Then how will I know?”

Sasuke rolls over then, and it’s not with delicacy like Naruto thinks the moment should have – it’s been all soft touches and quiet words, moonlight throughout the silent room, but now Sasuke’s just scuffling and readjusting the covers and Naruto’s hand got shoved away from his face somewhere in there. But it’s good, anyway, because Sasuke’s looking at him, and he’s looking back, and Sasuke says, “I think you already do.”

And maybe he does, because that’s the only way to explain this really, this yearning he’s always had, for Sasuke in particular but maybe always for more than that. And maybe that’s why this feels more heavy and yet lighter at the same time than he’s ever felt near Sakura, maybe this is what it’s supposed to feel like, maybe this is what he’s always really wanted. The 'maybe's are generous, really, because the more he thinks about it, the more certain he is, filling him with conviction and excitement.

“Or maybe you don’t,” Sasuke says, correcting himself, no longer meeting Naruto’s gaze and instead looking downward, somewhere. It’s as if all of Naruto’s anxiety has shifted over, filling Sasuke up and tensing every inch of him. “I don’t – I don’t want you to think I expect this of you, or –”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m gay,” Sasuke says.

“Uh, I know,” Naruto says, “that’s kind of what this conversation is about? Have you been listening?”

“I _know_ ,” Sasuke says, breathing frustration. “But I – it’s you. It’s always been you.”

Naruto’s chest tenses, and he’s glad his hand isn’t on Sasuke’s face right now because he’s not sure what he’d be doing with it now if it were.

“And I’m sure that’s, fucking _obvious_ , really,” Sasuke says, sounding so angry and tired with himself and Naruto thinks that Sasuke sounds tired of himself too damn often. “There’s no one else that could – that’s not the point of this.”

Naruto, hanging on every word, says, “It can be the point of this.”

“ _No_ ,” Sasuke says. “I don’t want you to feel like just because I’m in love with you, you have to be too.”

And then, there’s too much hitting Naruto at once. Because really, those _are_ the words for it, aren’t they? All the chasing and obsessing and crying and laughing and yearning and wanting nothing more than to be by Sasuke’s side – that’s being in love. That’s what this is. He feels so stupid for not getting it before, but how could he? Until a week ago, he'd hardly even considered it an option.

And being in love - that's what Sasuke just said he feels about Naruto and he can’t even bring himself to worry about Sasuke’s self-deprecating nonsense because everything makes sense now and _Sasuke is in love with him_.

“I’m in love with you too,” Naruto says, maybe too quickly, too impulsively, but he means it. He means it more than anything he’s ever said and oh my god, where have the words for this been all his life? He thinks of all the times Sasuke has asked him, 'Why?' and Naruto has said 'Because you're my friend,' - and that was true, it always was, but there was more and this is _it_.

“ _No_ ,” Sasuke says, and he sounds angry. Naruto has no idea how he could be angry right now, because Naruto’s never felt more elated in his entire life. It’s like his skin is on fire but, like, in a good way? If this is how Sakura feels with Ino then he’s so, so happy for her, this is fantastic.

“I love you,” Naruto says again, because he’s giddy with it, and Sasuke still looks mad but also his face is going red in a way that Naruto would better describe as embarrassment. “I _love_ you.”

“You don’t even know if you’re gay,” Sasuke says.

“Sure I do,” Naruto says. “I mean uh, I’ve been thinking about it for a, a while. Really. It's been confusing. But like, now I’m sure.”

“It should take you longer than that to be sure.”

“How would you know? You’ve always been sure!” Naruto must have a point, because Sasuke doesn’t respond, just huffs and glares at him. “Besides, the only thing I’ve ever been completely sure about is you.” He puts his hand on Sasuke’s face again then, this time on the side of his cheek with his thumb brushing just below his eye. “I can’t believe I didn’t get why sooner.”

“Naruto-” Sasuke starts, before Naruto interrupts him with his lips on his.

Naruto remembers their first kiss well, and at first, this one’s a lot like that, because Sasuke’s mouth is open and both of their eyes are open, too, because Naruto’s an idiot and forgets he’s supposed to close them and Sasuke’s completely off-guard. But then Naruto's closing his eyes and Sasuke relaxes, lips closing against Naruto’s so there’s no mess of teeth or tongues and it’s just… _nice_. Warm and nice and like a real first kiss is supposed to be, Naruto thinks. Not an accident, not forced, just comfortable and close and the culmination of everything he’s felt for years and years.

But it’s chaste and brief, Naruto pulling back to look at Sasuke. It’s the most vulnerable Naruto’s seen him since the Valley, eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed upward, still blushing red to his ears, something so hopeful and upset about him. Naruto thinks his heart might break out of his rib-cage with how hard it’s pumping.

“Shit,” Naruto says suddenly, realizing his mistake, “I should’ve asked first. Was that okay?”

And Sasuke; beautiful, vulnerable Sasuke, leans forward, forehead to Naruto’s, “Only if you’re not going to regret it tomorrow.”

Maybe it’s cheesy, or too honest, but Naruto says, “The only thing I’ve regretted with you was losing you.”

“Okay then,” Sasuke says.

“Can we do it again?” he asks.

“Sure.”

* * *

When Team Taka returns in the morning, Karin expects to find a very angry Sasuke who’s gotten no rest and is still just as addled as he’d been the night before. Anymore, she may have sympathy for Sasuke, and even something like forgiveness, but she does _not_ have patience for his moods. So a pissed-off sleepless Sasuke tends to lead to a pissed-off violent Karin, and no one has any fun at all. (Well, except Suigetsu, a little, because he's a dick.)

So, when she opens Sasuke’s door to grab a set of books that she’d left in there, she’s surprised to in fact _not_ find a pissed-off sleepless Sasuke, and instead finds Sasuke completely passed out, wrapped around Naruto as pathetically tight and over-the-top as possible. 

Naruto, apparently roused by her entrance, looks up at her with sleepy eyes and a lazy grin, finger raised to his mouth in a ‘shh’ gesture, before resting it back on top of Sasuke's head. She rolls her eyes, but nods, tip-toeing to grab her books before taking her leave.

Maybe they’ll actually have some peace and quiet around here, now.

* * *

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Sakura says. She’s incredulous, shocked, flabbergasted, you name it. If she could describe her mood as ‘ _What the fuck_ ’, she would, because it’s certainly the most accurate.

“Nope,” Naruto says, sitting nervously across from her in her room, legs spread and elbow resting on his knee. “I mean – Sasuke said he doesn’t wanna rush with labels, and everything, since I’m still figuring things out and things are. Well, things are tough for him, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” she says, registering but not really registering what Naruto is telling her, because Naruto is _gay_ , oh my god. After a moment, she huffs, "You know, I get why Sasuke was pissed at me when I came out to him."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asks. "I don't remember him being pissed! Well, more than usual, anyway."

"About like, how I'd been into him so long even though I'm a lesbian," she says. "Like, you bothered me all that time and you don't even like girls?"

"Oh my god, I didn't know! Leave me alone!" he squawks and she giggles, so it feels more normal.

But still.

Naruto is _gay_.

What are the _fucking chances_.

“You know,” she says, “Ino always says that we attract each other – gay people, that is. Like we travel in _packs_ or something. I thought it was bullshit, really, it’s not like gaydar’s a real innate thing. But _oh my god_.”

“Why would Ino think that?” Naruto asks, eyes wide and honest, like he always is.

“Oh, uh,” Sakura starts, because shit, this isn’t her secret to tell. But hey, it wasn’t Ino’s either, and Naruto’s gay too, so. Fuck it. She’s a gossip, so sue her. “Shikamaru and Choji are kind of –”

“What!” Naruto exclaims before she can even finish, looking just as incredulous and shocked as Sakura feels. “No way! What about Temari, though? I thought her and Shikamaru were like, a thing.”

“I guess that’s also happening? Like at the same time?” she says. “I don’t know, it’s complicated. I think Shikamaru's bi and they're like, all doing that? I don't know. Ino explained it so it’s not like I know from the source. Also, you can't tell anybody, okay?”

“Huh,” Naruto says, poking his lower lip out like he always does when he’s thoughtful. “Maybe gays do travel in packs.”

“Naruto, as the veteran gay of Team 7, I’m revoking your gay card for saying that,” Sakura says.

“What!” Naruto shouts. “But I’m just getting started!”

“Too bad, you ruined it,” she teases, tone serious and arms crossed.

“But I love Sasuke so _muuuch_ ,” he whines, and nope, she’s done with this, that’s too much. She throws a pillow at him, rousing a loud whine from him as he falls backwards overdramatically.

Her annoyance is far from sincere though, of course, and by the time Naruto sits up properly, clutching the pillow to his chest, she’s smiling fondly at him. “What?” he pouts.

“I’m really glad you told me,” she says, and at that he softens.

“Yeah,” he says. “You too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand there it is! it's done! it's shorter of a chapter than i expected, but i'm so proud of myself for doing it. ;w; i hope all enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it! thanks again for all the support i got thru writing this - your comments and kudos have meant the world to me.
> 
> hopefully i'll be writing more fic soon - and updating my other WIP, haha. in the meantime tho, come find me on tumblr! i make bad headcanon posts. http://lesbiankarin.tumblr.com
> 
> EDIT: one note i wanted to add since it got brought up in the comments and i think its important - i write my naruto and sakura as both being exclusively gay and having crushes on the opposite gender in the past as a result of compulsory heterosexuality / closet / being confused. this is not always the case in real life or for everyone tho! it's definitely possible and good to be bi and have crushes on both genders - liking one doesnt have to cancel the other out. just wanted to clarify, esp for any potentially bi readers! thanks guys :)


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